
Class. 
Book- 



,\yA- 



OFJe^ieXAL DONA.XION. 




^iif 



VKNTILATION 



AND 



FURNISHING 



OF 



Scbool IDoueee 



BY 



OLIVER E. WELLS 



STATE SUPERINTENDENT 



• • • 



•j *** ^ y* *n*t 'r ! » ■ « 



• • : • I • 



•*• ».• : •; 



• • • • •» • •• 



NIADISON, WISCONSIN 
189S 



U ^: ^ ^ 1, \ 



STATE PRINTERS, 
IViaDISON, 'WISCONSIN. 



C ( ,c c • 

c e " » •« 
ct *« t < t 



. • • ' 

»* J • • ! 



c«t .«, «** ••* .*. 



• e c c 



(general Suggestions. 



The recommendations and suggestions contained in this circular embody 
the results of long experience in the school room. They are sanctioned by 
those whose opinions are entitled to weight in such matters. The writer is 
indebted for valuable hints in various ways to an able circular issued in 1886 
by Dr. Hodgkins, of Ontario. 

The purpose of this circular is to offer suggestions in regard to the selec- 
tion of suitable schoolhouse sites, and the erection of commodious school 
buildings. It seeks to guide and, so far as it may, to stimulate district boards 
to greater care and diligence in the conduct of this important factor of school 
interests. 

In 1 88 1 Superintendent Whitford sent from this office an able circular 
embodying his own views and suggestions, and embracing carefully prepared 
plans of schoolhouses and sites. 

There is abundant evidence that this paper was fruitful in many ways. 
Unfortunately, the evidence is equally abundant that it is still needful to direct 
attention to the inadequate houses and untidy surroundings in which so many 
of the pupils of the public schools spend the years that are most potent in de- 
termining the character and conduct of their after lives. In the cities and 
larger villages of the state, school buildings and grounds are often, perhaps 
generally, a credit to the good taste and public spirit of the communities in 
which they are situated. 



SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE. 



But away from these centers of population many of the school buildings 
are blots on the landscape. Built without reference to architectural effect, or to 
the health, comfort and convenience of teacher and pupils, they bar progress in 
school work. 

Many of these buildings are in a shameful state of dilapidation, and when 
new ones are built it is thought unnecessary, or too expensive, to employ pro- 
fessional help, and so the defects of the old school buildings are perpetuated in 
the new ones. 

All this is evidence that it is still needful to arouse and educate public 
sentiment upon this subject ; to tell the people that the comfort and health 
and eye-sight of teachers and pupils are worth caring for ; to insist again that 
neat and attractive buildings and grounds are important contributions to the 
mental and moral well-being of the children. 

It is believed that effective help may be afforded to school boards by sug- 
gestions as to the best methods of choosing, laying out and adorning sites, and 
by furnishing them the latest information and the most meritorious designs in 
school architecture. 




SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE. 



Selection of the gebool gite. 



It is, of course, desirable that the schoolhouse should be placed near the 
geographical center of the district ; but neither the health of pupils, nor the 
beauty and wholesomeness of surroundings should be sacrificed to this purpose. 
An additional half mile's travel will be labor well expended, if it place pupils 
amid wholesome and attractive scenes. 

An elevated piece of ground, a knoll, or a gentle slope should be chosen, 
for the obvious reason that the drainage should be from, and not toward the 
site. Sand or gravel sub-soil affords natural drainage, and a southern or east- 
ern slope secures the rapid evaporation of surface water, and is most favorable 
to the admission of health-giving sunlight. A schoolhouse ought never to be 
built on low or marshy ground, near stagnant pools, or in the neighborhood of 
offensive odors. 

Persons engaged in physical toil may escape unharmed in the midst of 
effluvia which would seriously endanger those of less active employment. 
Children at school are especially subject to the deleterious effects of noxious 
gases and impure air, both on account of their long continued physical inactiv- 
ity, and their concentration of thought upon their lessons, to the neglect of bod- 
ily sensations. 



SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE. 



These depleting influences exhaust vital force, and, as a consequence, the 
power of resisting disease, leaving the system exposed to the whole brood of 
difficulties whose source is blood-poisoning. Where a site with natural 
drainage cannot be secured, artificial drains are indispensable. Underdraining 
is preferable, but open drains are better than pools of water on or near the 
premises. Decaying vegetation and stagnant water are fruitful sources of dis- 
ease and death. 

Natural groves of timber lying at the north and west of school buildings 
conduce to the comfort and beauty of the place ; but trees should never be per- 
mitted to interfere with the free circulation of air, or to obstruct the sunlight 

from house or grounds. 

Pi^rea of the Site. 

This department has uniformly advised boards to secure sites containing 
at least one acre, Under the provisions of law this amount may be taken with- 
out the consent of the owner, but with his consent any amount may be ob- 
tained. Enough should be secured so that the schoolhouse may be placed 
well back from the road, away from its dust and noise, leaving room in front 
for a smooth plat «of turf, and, in the rear, for outbuildings and play grounds. 

When an acre of ground is obtained, the following plan is recommended. 
Let the site be ten rods on the road and sixteen rods deep. Leave at least fifty 
feet in front for grass and flowers. A woodhouse should be built in the rear 
or attached to the schoolhouse, and separate privies should be built so far 
apart that conversation in one cannot be heard in the other. A screen of 
boards or of trees should hide them from the road, and a tight board fence run- 
ning from the woodshed or rear of the schoolhouse to the rear of the lot, 
should separate the playgrounds from each other. 

Tbe \V)ell or \/V)ctter guppllT. 

On every schoolhouse site there should be a well, or some other means of 
procuring water, so placed and guarded as to be perfectly secure against pollu- 
tion from surface drainage, or filth of any kind. 

No subject, except that of ventilation, is more closely related to the health 
of pupils than an abundant supply of pure drinking water. Disease germs 



THE WATER SUPPLY 



often lurk in water that is sweet to the taste, and perfectly transparent to the 
sight. Impurities in clear water can only be detected by chemical tests or 
analyses. Surface water is usually laden with organic matter, which in its de- 
composition sets free hurtful gases that are readily absorbed by cold water. 
To exclude such water the well should be sunk on high ground, and, if it be 
stoned or bricked, the upper two or three feet should be built with hard brick, 
laid in water-lime ; and a brick dome should be built over the top, leaving a 
man-hole, which may be closed by a flat stone set in cement. 

In porous soils — loose sand or coarse gravel — animal and vegetable mat- 
ter are carried long distances under-ground by soaking rains and melting 
snows. This tainted water, soaking through loose soils, or trickling along 
fissures in the rock, intercepts and poisons the hidden currents that are the 
sources of supply for wells. To avoid this dangerous contamination, school 
house sites ought to be removed as far as possible from privy vaults, pig pens, 
stables, and other places where animal and vegetable matter are left to decay 
on the surface. In' loose soils, tube or driven wells are safer than others. 
These are effective in keeping out worms, toads and other animals ; and where 
the water supply is far below the surface, are much less likely to be infected by 
leachings from privy vaults. 

PriY)ies. 

The construction and care of privies is a difficult part of school manage- 
ment. Much has been written and said about it, but the utterly repulsive con- 
dition of most of these necessary conveniences shows that progress in this mat- 
ter has been very slow. Nevertheless, the interests of life, health and decency 
demand that the struggle should be continued. The following rules ought to 
be rigidly observed in their construction. 

1. They should be private, that is, masked or screened from observation. 
A row of Balsam fir or Norway spruce planted between the privies and the 
road will make an effective screen in a few years, and will add greatly to the 
beauty of the place. 

2. They should be separate, out of sight and out of mind, each from the 
other. 



8 SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE. 



3. They should be well lighted and well ventilated. 

4. They should be constantly supervised, — kept clean. 

The last rule can be obeyed only by constant and discreet vigilance. It 
will impose on teacher or janitor duties that are always unpleasant and may 
sometimes seem to be indelicate, but the abhorrent condition of school privies 
demands that almost any sacrifice be made to save children from the mental 
and moral degradation incident to daily contact with indecency. 

Generally a little plain talk to the boys will secure the co-operation of the 
well disposed. With their aid, vigilant care on the teacher's part will beget a 
sentiment that will restrain the thoughtless. 

These outbuildings should be plainly, but substantially built ; they should 
be raised at least one foot above the ground, and placed on substantial founda- 
tions. Inside walls and ceilings should be covered with matched boards, and 
on the last coat of paint sand should be sifted to prevent marking. These 
buildings should be separated into compartments by board partitions six feet in 
height. In the boys' privies urinals should be provided discharging into the 
vaults, and in each one seat should be provided so low that young children 
may occupy it and still rest the feet on the floor. The receptacle for excre- 
ments should be made water-tight, so that no portion of them can be filtered 
into the ground. Vaults may be of brick with brick floors, extending one foot 
beyond and in the rear of the building. The vault floor should slope toward 
the rear to facilitate cleaning, and the projection of the vault should be closed 
by a tightly fitting door, hinged to the house and secured by a lock. From the 
vault a tight wooden flue, six inches square, should extend above the roof and 
in the rear of the building for ventilation. The contents of the vaults should be 
frequently covered with dry earth or dry wood ashes, and the vault should be 
cleaned in vacation and thoroughly disinfected. A cheap and effective disin- 
fectant may be had by dissolving chloride of lime in water, using one pound to 
a gallon of water. This may be used to disinfect urinals, and, if sprinkled oc- 
casionally over the floors of outbuildings and then washed off, will help to 
render their condition tolerable. 



General Recommendations. 



The plans herewith submitted are designed to meet the wants of country 
districts and of villages that may need houses of but one to four rooms. 

Other plans are given for city schoolhouses, as possible aids to boards, 
but it is understood that in the main cities will build according to the plans and 
specifications of architects. The fundamental considerations in the construction 
and arrangement of schoolhouses are health, comfort, convenience and cost. 
Of these health is of first importance. Education that costs the impairment of 
health, or of constitutional vigor, is purchased too dearly. 

Neat and tasteful schoolhouses and grounds have an educational value 
that is beyond price. With proper care and forethought these may add a 
beauty to the landscape that in reflex influence is inestimable; but neither 
health, nor comfort, nor convenience should be sacrificed to architectural con- 
ceits. Stone and brick are more durable than wood, and they give an air of 
strength and solidity that adds greatly to the beauty of public buildings. 
When used for school buildings, air spaces should be provided between walls 
and plastering by furring. When wood is used, the exterior of the building 
should be painted in sober colors, — drab, gray or brown. 

The ground under school buildings should be cleared of all rubbish ; noth- 
ing should be left to taint the air by its decomposition. Schoolhouses should 
always be placed on substantial stone foundations at least two feet above the 
ground, and free circulation of air under the floor should be provided by open- 
ings in the wall, protected by screens or iron rods. 



lO SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE 



School rooms ought to be at least twelve feet between floor and ceiling, 
and large enough to afford wide spaces about the stove, for aisles, and for the 
convenience of recitation classes. 

Floors of smooth, narrow, hardwood boards, well oiled or painted and well 
matched, conduce to health and cleanliness. An excellent finish may be ob- 
tained by oiling two or three times before using, and, during the first year, 
when the floor is cleaned, and while it is moist, laying a fold of cloth saturated 
with raw linseed oil m the mop and passing it again over the entire floor. Soft- 
wood floors are very soon worn into hollows and are splintered in such a way 
as to hold accumulations of dirt, which, when dried and trodden into impalpable 
dust, load the air with the seeds of sickness that enter the system by respiration. 
All school room floors should be doubled, and a lining of doubled sheets of felt 
paper should be laid between the floors, in the interest both of economy and 
comfort. 

In country schoolhouses and in primary rooms the base of blackboards 
should be abo t two and one-half feet from the floor. Wainscoting under 
blackboards should be crowned with a trough to receive crayons and chalk 
dust. Windows should be neatly cased and capped and should extend upward 
as near to the ceiling as the proportions of the building will allow. They 
should be grouped in twos, threes, etc , and be large enough to afford sufficient 
light in cloudy weather, and should be furnished with shades or inside blinds. 
The latter are much to be preferred and, in the end, will be found quite as eco- 
nomical. Moreover, inside blinds are the only means known by which the 
quantity of light and the mode of its admission can be regulated. These blinds 
should be made in four leaves, all having rolling slats, but no panels. The 
quantity of light should be sufficient to stimulate fully, but not to dazzle the 
faculty of vision. It should come from above the level of the pupil's eye and in 
a manner that will not interfere with its tree transmission by the reflection of 
shadows. Large panes of plate glass, of uniform density, free from flaws and 
irregularities, are best for this purpose. Unimpaired vision will compensate 
parents for added cost. 

It will add much to the appearance of the room if the inside finish be of 



GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS. I I 

hardwood, oiled or varnished. It costs little more to make the room large 
-enough to furnish wide, open spaces for aisles, stove and recitation seats. These 
spaces add to the convenience and comfort of pupils and teacher, and lessen the 
danger from vitiated air. 

Dark corners ought to be avoided. Wardrobes should open into the room 
so as to be in sight of persons in the main room. They should be furnished 
with heavy iron hooks, one row of which should be placed within the reach of 
small pupils. Pigeon holes for overshoes and cupboards for dinner pails ought 
also to be furnished. More than one entrance to schoolhouse and grounds is 
desirable. 

The walls should be plastered with three-coat work, and, where black- 
boards are to be made, plaster-ot-paris should be used with each coat, and the 
lath should be stayed by doubling the studding. These walls should be colored 
gray, or reddish brown. If the ceiling is to be plastered, the joists should be 
well bridged to prevent sagging. It is desirable that the ceilings should be 
made of narrow strips of matched boards, and painted some light neutral tint. 
Where the foundation is good, so that the building does not settle or the walls 
•crack, a fairly good blackboard may be made by laying three or four coats of 
liquid slating on the ordinary plaster. A better board may be made by putting 
sharp sand in the last coat of plaster that covers the spaces designated for this 
purpose. After this is dry, well calendared manila paper of medium thickness 
may be pasted and dried smooth, which will receive liquid slating as a wall 
does, and should be rubbed down with fine sand paper. Where walls are badly 
cracked the manila paper may be used as above. The top of the board should 
be six and one-half feet from the tloor, to enable teachers to put work on the 
board to remain from day to day. For the convenience of young children, the 
board should reach to within two and one-half feet of the floor. 

^eating and \5entilation. 

These topics are treated together because ventilation in school hours can 
be effected only by means of heating apparatus. It ought to be too late to re- 
call the well worn proofs that air loaded with organic matter, '• school room 
air" as it is called, is the great source of nervous disorders, of physical depres- 



12 SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE. 



sion, of tubercular diseases and consumption. That school children are pecul- 
iarly subject to the baneful influence of impure air has been already pointed 
out. It may be added here that their vivacity and sprightliness, so far from 
enabling them to endure these noxious influences with impunity, only serve to 
conceal the disorganization of lungs and nervous system until it is too late to 
apply the remedy. 

The air of a closed and crowded school room is tainted in various ways. 
It is devitalized by passing over super-heated surfaces of iron ; the lungs pour 
into it great quantities of carbonic acid, watery vapor, and worn out matter ; 
insensible perspiration loads it with animal excretions ; exhalations from the 
body and dust from everywhere increase its baneful power. This air, sur- 
charged with the seeds of death, enters the lungs by respiration, sapping the 
foundations of life by poisoning the blood; it is absorbed into the walls and 
ceilings, whence it is given back to the air, causing the offensive odors so prev- 
alent in all ill ventilated school rooms. 

The aim of ventilation is to furnish a constant supply of fresh air and to 
draw off foul air from all parts of the room, removing the products of respira- 
tion and exhalation as soon as thrown off, leaving no corners stagnant or un- 
swept by the purifying current. The primary means of accomplishing this are 
the windows, which must extend near the ceiling, so that air entering by them 
may blow upon and carry away the organic dust and condensed vapor which 
collect and putrify upon its surface. 

The windows should be numerous, the sash so arranged as to be easily 
handled and so placed as to admit an abundance of air, and, most important of 
all, they must be frequently opened. Nothing can take the place of aeration by 
open windows. Artificial ventilation, although indispensable for changing the 
air when the windows are necessarily closed, at the best is insufficient. The 
room must be frequently and thoroughly refreshed and purified by the sweep of 
the free winds through all its widely opened windows. Such an atmospheric 
washing should be secured three or four times a day in all weathers. At re- 
cess, particularly, it should be insisted upon, banishing teacher and pupils from 
the room meanwhile, if necessary. 

The brightness of the remaining hours will more than make up for the 



HEATING AND VENTILATION. 1 3 

trouble and loss of time. Morning and evening the process should be repeated. 
In study hours windows can rarely be opened without subjecting pupils to dan- 
gerous exposure, and other means must be provided for drawing oft respired 
and vitiated air, and supplying a constant inflow of untainted air. Outflow and 
inflow are inseparably connected. Neither one can be secured without the 
other. As the gases that are poured into the air of the school room by respira- 
tion from the lungs and exhalation from the body are, in the main, heavier than 
atmospheric air, their tendency is to settle, and ventilating flues should there- 
fore open near the door. 

It is worth while to recall the fact that the movement of atmospheric cur- 
rents is caused by difference of weight, which in turn is the result of difference 
in temperature. Flues built into walls without provision for warming them are 
simply useless. They can neither "draw" off, nor " suck'* up the deleterious 
vapors of the room. The action of air in a shaft or chimney, whether warmed 
or not, is precisely analogous to the movement of two boys balanced on a see- 
saw. If their weight is equal, neither moves ; if one is heavier, one descends 
and the other ascends. So with ventilating shafts ; the column of air in them 
is balanced against a column of the same size and height outside of them. If 
the outer air be cold and that in the shaft is warm, the latter column will be 
slightly lighter. This difference of weight, if there be not too much friction in 
the shaft or chimney to be overcome, will turn the balance and the air in the 
shaft will rise, cold air pressing in to take its place. How slight this moving 
force is may be seen from the fact that a column of air one foot square and thirty 
feet high, at a temperature of lOO degrees Fahrenheit, differs in weight from an 
equal volume at 32 degrees Fahrenheit by only five ounces. Taking from this 
the friction of both currents, ascending and descending, will give the measure of 
the ascensive force. Slight as this force is, it is all there is to depend on. It 
is obvious that all air ducts should be smooth and as straight as possible. Every 
angle and elbow increases the friction, and so obstructs the free passage of air. 
Let it be remembered that the movement of the balance depends wholly on the 
freedom of action of both its sides. The heated column has no force to spare 
for " sucking " in cold air through insufficient openings, to supply the place 



14 SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE. 



which it leaves. Still less has it the power of going off by itself, leaving a 
vacuum behind. Unless cold air is ready in equal measure to supply the place, 
the warmer column will wait for it, — in other words stagnate, — and there will 
be no draught. 

That this is the condition of many ventilating flues may be shown by hold- 
ing a light handkerchief, or burning a match before them. On the other hand,, 
fresh air can be brought into the room only by providing for the escape of foul 
air. An attempt to blow into a bottle will show this, and will also show why it 
often happens that rooms cannot be warmed from hot-air furnaces until a window 
or other outlet is opened, allowing the pent-up atmosphere to escape and the fresh 
supply to enter in its place. In order then that there may be a flow of air 
through a room, both inlet and outlet channels must be large, straight and 
smooth, thus reducing the friction of air upon the surfaces of both ducts to a 
mininium. One large flue is better than two small ones. Friction varies as 
the surface of the conductor. A ventilating duct two feet square exposes eight 
square feet of its surface to each four cubic feet of air moved through it ; 
whereas, four ducts having equivalent cross-section capacity would expose six- 
teen square feet of surface to friction for each four cubic feet of air moved. A 
shaft two feet in diameter will conduct about the same amount of air as six 
shafts, each one foot in diameter. For country schoolhouses, and others 
warmed by stoves, flues may be built into the walls, reaching to a ventilator in 
the roof; but these, to be effective must be warmed in some way. Heat enough 
will be radiated from a large kerosene lamp placed in the opening to a foul air 
duct to cause an upward flow of air. But an open fireplace is the best of all 
ventilators for this class of buildings. An open fire causes an immediate up- 
ward current of cold air through the chimney. This exhaustion of cold air 
from the lower strata, in turn causes the warmer air from the ceiling to de- 
scend, warming the floor and equalizing the temperature of all parts of the 
room. This open fire, if kept burning till the walls of the chimney are heated 
will cause the upward current of air to continue long after the fire is burned 
out, if fresh air is supplied to take its place. This fresh air may be admitted 
through an opening in the outside wall, and conducted under the floor by a tin 
or wooden pipe to the stove, into a chamber or jacket that incloses the bottom 



HEATING AND VENTILATION. I 5 

and reaches halfway up the sides of the stove. This jacket should be made of 
galvanized iron. Ventilating stoves, of which many kinds are manufactured, 
accomplish the same end economically and thoroughly. The practical diffi- 
culty with these ventilating stoves is that they send the warm air up to the ceil- 
ing, and the lower part of the room must wait until the upper regions are com- 
pletely filled before it is affected by the warmth. This difficult}^ is overcome 
by an open fire, which, by its powerful draught, immediately sets up a circula- 
tion from the upper to the lower strata. These upward and downward currents 
commingle and so equalize the temperature of all parts of the room. 

Direct radiation from an open fire, by warming the floor and the lower 
strata of air first, is a thoroughly reliable factor in producing uniformity of tem- 
perature throughout the room. 

Fresh air may be admitted from the outside through an open window, even 
in study hours, when the current comes from behind the stove so that the in- 
coming air must pass it before reaching the pupils. Even then it is better to 
place a board on the window-sill, directly under the lower sash, and into this 
to insert two six-inch elbows, furnished with dampers, and so placed that the 
incoming current of air shall have an upward direction. The momentum of 
this current will carry it far toward the ceiling, and its temperature will be 
raised by the air of the room before it reaches the floor. Heating with an air- 
tight stove, baking the bodies and brains of children in an unchanged atmos- 
phere, that reeks with carbonic acid and organic exhalations, may save fuel, 
but it wastes life. In fact, however, there is economy in wise ventilation. The 
sluggishness that is caused by breathing impure air is attended, with a sense of 
chilliness even at high temperatures. 

yupniture. 

The size and shape of a school-room determines the arrangement of its 
furniture. Every school-room should be large enough for the personal accom- 
modation of the teacher, and for purposes of recitation. It should also be suf- 
ficiently large to furnish each pupil with space enough for a desk, and for free 
and unobstructed movement. Every child has a right to his own personality 
and his own share of uncontaminated air. The addition of two or three feet to the 
length and breadth of a school- room adds little to the expense, but adds muoli 



1 6 SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE. 



to the comfort and convenience of pupils and teacher. In adaptation to the 
needs of the school-room> the best school furniture leaves little to be desired, 
and the best will in the end be found to be the cheapest. Great care should be 
taken to adapt the height of seats and desks to the size of the children who oc- 
cupy them. Some seats should be furnished for every ungraded school so low 
that the youngest pupils may occupy them and still rest the feet squarely on 
the floor ; and others so high, that the larger pupils may use them without 
discomfort. It is important, also, that the pupils' desks be brought so near the 
seats that they may use them in writing or in slate work, and still maintain 
upright positions. 

. Folding seats allow the forward edge of the seat to be placed directly 
under the edge of the desk in front, and, when folded, leave room for pupils to 
pass in or out. For this reason, and to economize space as well, desks with 
folding seats are preferable. Single are better than double desks, for many^ 
reasons. Double desks make possible the spread of vermin and disease, and 
the contamination of the pure by contact and close relationship with immoral 
seat mates. The amount of genuine study is lessened and the need of disci- 
pline is increased by compelling children to sit together at the same desk. 
The necessary noise of the school room is augmented, the temptations to carry 
on visitations in study hours are multiplied, and orderly habits are broken up, 
by this means. 

Every school room ought to be a place for the formation of correct busi- 
ness habits. Every pupil should be held responsible for the proper care of his 
own seat and desk, for the neat and orderly arrangement of his own books and 
papers, and for rigid abstinence from interference with the books or papers of 
another. All this is impossible, or nearly so, where two share one desk. To 
divide responsibility is to weaken and destroy it. 

Many things essential to the comfort and efficiency of schools are some- 
times overlooked by districts. Mention may be made of the following essential 
things. Walks and steps should be supplied with foot scrapers. Strips of 
band iron, securely fastened to one step, projecting half an inch above the sur- 
face of the tread, make excellent and economical scrapers. Every outside door 
should be provided with one or more coarse mats, metallic, rubber or cocoa, 



SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE. I 7 



andthe inside doors with finer ones. A good clock placed in plain sight of the 
whole school is a valuable addition to school furniture. System in school oper- 
ations depends upon the proper observ^ance of time, and accuracy and ease in 
the movement of classes are more readily secured when each pupil knows 
when his division or class is to recite. 



plans of §ebool j^ouses. 



The following electrotypes have been made after plans prepared under the 
supervision of the department officers ; some of them especially for the pur- 
poses of this circular, and others have been selected from the portfolios of 
architects of repute, who worked them out and wrought them into forms in 
different sections of the country. Some houses represented m this circular 
have had the approval of school officers after actual use for a series of years. 

The plans herewith submitted may, in certain cases, need modifications to 
adapt them to local wants, but it is urged that the important features of these 
designs be preserved. Floor space should be sufficient to allow ample passage 
ways for pupils, and to enable teachers to handle and interchange classes with- 
out confusion and without jostling. 

Provisions for lighting, warming and ventilating rooms should never be 
stinted. All stairways should be covered, and inside ascents should be by easy 
flights having a " run," or, better stil', a '* return " in the middle. 

Schoolhouse stairs should have twelve, or, at the least, eleven-inch treads, 
and six, or, at the most, seven-inch risers. 

Local builders may obtain additional information relating to these plans by 
corresponding with the architects who furnished them. Their names and ad- 
dresses will be found at the close pi this circular. 



i8 



SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE. 



To aid in determining the necessary size of schoolrooms, a table showing 
the dimensions of the various sizes of school desks, is here inserted. 



SINGLE DESKS. 


GRADE. 


DOUBLE DESKS. 




Height 

of 
Seat. 

16 
15 
14 
13 
12 
11 


Width 

of 
Top. 


a 

OJ 

24 
24 
21 
21 
18 
18 


Floor 
Space. 

33 
31 

27 
27 
26 
26 


Age 
Accom- 
modated. 

Adults. 
17 to 20 
13 to 17 
10 to 13 

7 to 10 
5 to 7 


A 
B 
C 
D 
E 
F 


Height 

of 
Seat. 


Width 

of 
Top. 


40 
40 
38 
38 
36 
36 


Floor 
Space. 

33 
31 

27 
27 
26 
26 


Age 
Accom- 
modated. 


A 
B 
C 
D 
E 
F 


16 
15 
14 
13 
12 
12 


Normal 

...High School... 

.Grammar School. 

■ 

.1st Intermediate. 
.2nd Intermediate. 
.... Primary 


16 
15 
14 
13 
12 
11 


16 
15 
14 
13 
12 
12 


Adults. 
17 to 20 
13 to 17 
10 to 13 
7 to 10 
5 to 7 



Country districts will rarely or never need larger desks than those that are 
marked in this list " C." Ordinarily the desks of country schoolhouses will 
be well chosen if one-third of them be of the size marked " C," one-third of the 
size marked " D," and the remainder be divided between those marked " E " 
and those marked " F." The larger desks should be placed at the rear of the 
row of forms, the medium sizes in the middle and the smallest in front. The 
front row of desks should have no seats attached, thus affording an opportunity 
to place recitation seats in front of the row of forms. The aisles between the 
desks should be twenty inches, measured from the extreme edge of one top to 
that of another. The side aisles should be at least thirty inches in the clear, 
and, where it is practicable, a center aisle of the same width should be left. 
Where space permits, three feet may be allowed for side aisles. The list will 
enable mechanics to estimate the seating capacity of a room, if they remember 
that the words "floor space" in the list mean the distance from the back of 
one seat to the back of another. 



ONE ROOM SCHOOL HOUSES 1 9 



0ne Room gebool Rouses. 

These plans are designed to aid those country and village districts that 
can ill-afford to employ an architect. It is hoped that they offer valuable sug- 
gestions, and will help districts to furnish schoolhouses that are better lighted, 
better warmed and ventilated, and that will furnish better conveniences for 
pupils and teachers than are ordinarily found in one-room school buildings. 

They will accommodate from 35 to 75 pupils, and may be built at a cost 
varying from ;^5CO to ;^ 1,200. The first cut, from designs by J. Bruess, of Mil- 
waukee, gives the front elevation, a perspective view, and the floor plan of a 
plain building;, designed for country districts. The style is simple and inex- 
pensive. A small fireplace, designed to aid in ventilating the room, and a sash 
door, giving egress to the boys' play grpund, are shown in the floor plan. The 
room should be warmed by a ventilating stove which is supplied with pure air 
by a flue leading from the outside under the floor, and through an opening in 
the floor under the stove to a hot air chamber. Blackboards of suitable width 
should extend along the entire end opposite the entrance, and along either side 
to the first window. They may be extended across all the spaces between win- 
dows. The teacher's table is at the rear of the room, and the pupils sit with 
their backs to the entrance. 



20 



PLAN NO. I 




J . BRU ES 5 , 

MIL \A/A U K E E 



FRONT ELEVATION 



PERSPECTIVE VIEW NO. I 



21 




22 



FLOOR PLAN NO. I 




PLAN NO. 



23 



Plan No. 2, adapted by W. G. Kirchoffer, of Elkhorn, Wis., presents the floor 
plan, the front and side elevations of a one room schoolhouse, built on the 
high school grounds at Sparta, Wis. The entrance is lighted by a transom 
window over the front doors, and the wardrobes by high, small windows, as 
shown in the cut. The school room is lighted by windows in the rear, and on 
one side of the building. One side of the building is without windows, leaving 
an entire wall to be occupied with blackboards. This blank wall will be an 
undesirable feature where a house must be so placed that both sides are ex- 
posed to view. This may be remedied by building both sides of the house 
alike, leavmg the rear wall blank, reversing the pupils' desks, and placing the 
teacher's table and the blackboards at the end opposite the entrance. It will 
be noticed that the only entrance to the school room is through the ward- 
robes. A better arrangement may be effected by placing the teacher's table and 
platform, if a platform be thought desirable, at one side of the center of the 
front end of the room, and inserting a door between the hall and the main 
room. 



24 



PLAN NO. 2, FRONT ELEVATION. 




_ J. 1-. L, L ^ L 



"T^i I r~^^ III 







PLAN NO. 2, SIDE ELEVATION. 



25 





26 



FLOOR PLAN NO. 2. 



e3 



>iS30 
2B3HDV3± 






CE ~^ 



Uj 
QQ 
o 
QC 



-J 

-J 

3: 



o 

QQ 



UJ 
OQ 
o 
QC 
Q 
Or 



SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE. 2/ 



The next diagrams present front and side elevations and floor plans of a 
schoolhouse drawn from designs furnished by this office. It will easily seat 
48 pupils in single, or 64 in double desks. More may be seated by narrowing 
the aisles ; but these open spaces are invaluable sources of pure air. The plan 
is drawn for 48 single desks, arranged in six rows ; for side aisles, three and 
one-half feet wide ; for passage-ways between the deskSj twenty inches between 
the extreme edges of the desk tops, and a center aisle thirty inches in width. 
Blackboards extend across the end and on the sides to the first windows. It is 
well to fill all the spaces between the windows on the sides of the room with 
blackboards of suitable width. A sash door on one side of the fireplace af- 
fords an opportunity to overlook the boys' playground, and ready access to a 
woodhouse in the rear. A tight board fence, six or eight feet high, extending 
from the woodhouse to the rear of the lot, should divide the boys' from the 
girls' play ground. Separate entrances are provided, and all but one of the 
steps leading to the landing are within the house. The partitions enclosing 
wardrobes, and dividing them and the entrances from the main room, should 
be about seven feet high, of matched hardwood boards finished in oil, with 
base board and cornice. This arrangement adds more than one thousand cubic 
feet to the reservoir whence air is to be drawn for respiration, and affords ex- 
cellent means for admitting fresh air. By closing entrance and wardrobe doors 
and opening wardrobe windows the cool air from the outside will be warmed, 
as it passes over the partition, by contact with the heated air of the upper por- 
tions of the room. Between the wardrobes a recess, reaching to the front win- 
dow, affords space for library cases and for a dictionary table. In front of this 
recess stands the heater, a ventilating stove to be supplied with fresh air by the 
process outlined under cut No. i. The stovepipe, leading to the chimney in 
the opposite end of the room, should be suspended as near the ceiling as safety 
will permit, and should be shielded on the lower side by a half-round of tin to 
prevent the downward radiation of heat. Between the stove and the desks 
a screen, panelled with zinc, hinged like a clothes-horse and made stable by 
large feet of hard wood, should be placed. Two desks nearest the heater, as 
shown in the diagram, may be omitted when the pupils can be seated without 
them. The fireplace is invaluable as a means of ventilation. It may be re- 



28 PLANS OF SCHOOL HOUSES. 



peated : that a constant supply of fresh air can be obtained only where provision 
is made for a steady outflow. A ventilating stove can neither " suck " nor 
** draw " more than the normal amount of air into a closed room. All air 
movements are caused by the inequality of weight in the several strata, and 
this is the result of difference in temperature. The air in contact with a heated 
surface is expanded and rises to the ceiling, and this process goes on until the 
lower strata are warmed by contact with those above. It is evident that before 
the floor can be comfortably warmed, the upper portions must be intensely 
heated. Any process that will bring this warm air in constant flow to the 
region where pupils sit, will be not only life-giving, but money-saving. When 
a fire is kindled in an open fireplace, the column of air in the chimney is rarified 
and is forced upward by a current of cooler, and hence heavier air from the floor. 
Warm air from above descends to take its place, and fresh air from out of doors 
flows through the hot-air chamber of the ventilating stove into the reservoir 
thus created for it. The circuit is complete, and provision is made for bring- 
ing warmth into the region where pupils sit, for supplying fresh and removing 
vitiated air ; but it was the open fire that started the current. The current thus 
started by a fire kindled in the morning will continue long after the fier is ex- 
tinct. 

Comfort and economy will be subserved by lining schoolhouse floors with 
softwood boards, but the floor itself should be made of narrow strips of hard- 
wood, matched and finished in oil. 



PLAN NO. 3, FRONT ELEVATION. 



29 





"^SB 





30 



PLAN NO. 3, SIDE ELEVATION. 




FLOOR PLAN NO. 3. 



31 




V Jts lX%.Xi> 



32 ONE ROOM SCHOOL HOUSES. 



T he fourth design is taken from the circular issued by Superintendent 
Whitford, in 1882. It gives a perspective view, a cross section, basement and 
floor plans of a one-room building, drawn by Messrs. Edbrooke and Burnbam, 
architects, Chicago. " The size of the main building is 24^ by 36 feet, and it is 
13 feet between joists. The wood-house is 8^ by 1 1 ^ feet, and its height is 
10 feet between joists. The floor surface of the wardrobes, each 5 by 8^ 
feet, is 85 square feet ; and of the school-room, 23 by 29 feet, is 667 square feet. 
It furnishes ample space for forty-two pupils at double desks, and it can well 
accommodate thirty-six at single desks. For each of the former number of pu- 
pils, the school-room provides nearly 16 square feet of floor, and fully 206 
cubic feet of air ; and for the latter number, 18^ square feet of floor, and 240.8 
cubic feet of air. The area of the windows in this room is equal to almost one- 
fourth of its floor surface. 

" The main feature of this building consists in the superior facilities for 
warming and ventilating the schoolroom. The fresh air, after entering the air- 
chamber through the openings in the outside walls under the joists, passes 
another opening, at least 20 by 22 inches in size, into one of Smead's school- 
room heaters, where it is warmed to about 120 degrees on an average. It 
then is driven into the room in the volume already mentioned and distrib- 
uted throughout in course of thirty minutes. It is afterwards withdrawn, 
as it descends to the floor, first, in part by the draft of the heater ; and 
second, through the registers and under the floor, and then into the 
ventilating flue in the chimney. Three forces are always operating in cold 
weather to drive the foul air through these registers, viz. : the expansive power 
given by the heater to the air as it enters the room ; the condensation of the air 
as it cools rapidly in contact with the windows, where it drops immediately into 
the registers beneath ; and the exhaustion created in the ventilating flue by the 
heat derived from the smoke escaping through another flue in the chimney. If 
desired, a cheaper device in the form of a cast-iron ventilating base can be 
placed in the wall next to the floor under each window of the room, in the place 
of the register, as shown on the floor plan." 



PLAN NO. 4, PERSPECTIVE VIEW. 



33 




34 



PLAN NO. 4, CROSS SECTION. 




NO. 4, GROUND PLAN. 



35 





1 


I ^_... 




mb53!jj 



36 



FLOOR PLAN NO. 4. 




TWO ROOM SCHOOL HOUSES. 3/ 



T"v\:)o Room School j^ouses. 



The succeeding diagrams give the front elevation, basement and floor plans 
of a two-room building, from designs by J. Bruess, of Milwaukee. It will be 
noticed that closets are provided for in the basement. These can be used as 
water closets in places where water and sewerage are supplied ; or the contents 
of the vaults can be dessicated by currents of air drawn through the basement 
in the process of ventilation. Many basement privies of school houses are ren- 
dered entirely wholesome by the latter process, and many, perhaps all of the 
firms engaged in warming and ventilating public buildings by means of hot air, 
will provide for this desiccation and guarantee results. Outbuildings, used as 
privies, are unsightly, and, in thickly settled neighborhoods, it is nearly im- 
possible to prevent their becoming public, as well as private nuisances. So far 
as practicable they should be abated in the interest of health and of decency 
alike. 

A principal's room may be finished over the entrance, to which access may be 
provided by a stairway placed on one side of the entrance, as shown in the cut. 
On the other side a closet is provided for the necessary equipments of a school- 
bouse, such as brooms, maps, dust pans, etc. A flight of stairs leads from the 
staircase hall to the attic, and if a walk be laid across this, entrance to the prin- 
cipal's room may be obtained in this way also. Dormer windows are provided 
for the attic, and the plan is so drawn that another room may be extended from 
the staircase hall, without marring the harmony of the design. This addi- 
tional room should be the same size and shape as those shown in the cut. The 
building has an attractive exterior, and is well planned for ward and village 
schools. The perfect adaptation of the design to a two or three-room building 
s an esp ecially desirable feature. 



38 



NO. 5, FRONT ELEVATION. 




-FRONT ELEVATION 



BASEMENT PLAN NO. I. 



39 







FIRST FLOOR PLAN 



40 



FIRST FLOOR PLAN, NO. 5. 




BASEMEN T PLAN. 



J BRUCSS. 






TWO ROOM SCHOOL HOUSES. 4I 



The sixth jdesign is from the circular by Superintendent Whitford and 
^* was prepared by H. C, Koch & Co., architects, of Milwaukee. It is for a 
brick building, with frame gables to imitate timber-work, having panels finished 
with shingles or common siding. Its entire length is 82 feet. It has only one 
story, and provides for the girls and boys separate wardrobes, each 5 feet in 
width. It has also a teacher's room, 12 by 16 feet in size, which can also be 
used for the recitation of classes when desired. The larger school-room is 25 
by 43 feet at the floor, and will accommodate about 75 pupils ; and the smaller 
one, 25 by 34 feet, and will accommodate about 55 pupils. The height of these 
rooms should be 14 feet, to increase somewhat the air space, which, with the 
floor surface, in this design as well as in the previous one, is not quite sufficient, 
even if only small children should occupy the seats furnished." 



42 



PLAN NO. 6, PERSPECTIVE VIEW. 







■" ~1^^'^'~^^''"'*'M ii-S^ »-i^ 7r~yi--^^ — ^ . ,,, 



FLOOR PLAN, NO. 6. 



43 




44 



THREE ROOM SCHOOL HOUSE. 



The seventh design presents a perspective view and floor plan from the 
same circular, from plans furnished by H. C. Koch & Co., Milwaukee. " It is for 
an elegant one-story school building, containing three school rooms and a 
teacher's room, which are connected together by a long corridor in front. 
Separate wardrobes for girls and boys lead from this corridor into the school 
rooms, and are used for the entrance and exit of the pupils. The school rooms 
are indicated by the rows of desks on the plan. The room shown without 
desks is for the principal of the school, and can be used for the recitation of 
classes when necessary. The central part of the building is 140 by 46 feet, and 
will accommodate 228 pupils in the three rooms. This design requires that the 
building be of brick, with a stone basement up to the line of the top of the 
water-table. The belts and pilasters are of brick ; and the copings on gables 
of stone or terra cotta. This roof may be slated or shingled. " 




PERSPECTIVE VIEW, NO. /. 



45 




hill ■ ': I \\\\ ii .1^ Fii 



46 FOUR ROOM SCHOOL HOUSE 



The eighth design represents a four-room school house that was built on 
Meader street, in Providence, R. I. The cuts present one elevation, the base- 
ment, first and second floor plans of an admirable building for a ward or villag 
school house. This design was commended as a model by the school commise 
sioner oi Rhode Island, in his report for 1891. 



PLAN NO. 8, PERSPECTIVE VIEW, 



47 




48 



PLAN NO. 8, BASEMENT PLAN. 




PLAN NO. 8, FIRST FLOOR. 



49 







1 




M 








rf, 


'"'.> 


9^ 







M 


1 1 


'^ 


^ 1 


e f 


tr- 






y- 





50 



PLAN NO. 8, SECOND FLOOR. 




PLAN NO. 9. 



51 



The ninth design gives cuts of a four-room building, erected at Bayfield in 
1889. Staircases, wardrobes, corridors, library and office are amply lighted 
and are easily accessible. 





St.CTlQHAA. 



EAST SlO£ CLLVATION 



52 



PLAN NO. 9, BASEMENT. 



A>- . 




BASEMENT PL A(\r 

t FEET -I INCH 



PLAN NO. 9, FIRST FLOOR. 



S3 




rif^ST STOF^Y PLAN 
t FE£-T = 1 INCH 



54 



PLAN NO. 9, SECOND FLOOR. 



i. 




SECOiXiO STORy PLAN, 

4.PEET- IIMCH- 



PLAN NO. lO. 



55 



The next plan — the tenth in the series — presents a combination of three 
rooms on the first floor, and a high school room and two recitation rooms on 
the second floor. This house is fairly equivalent to a sixroom building, and is 
provided with such auxiliary rooms as a first-class building of this kind re- 
quires. 




56 



PLAN NO. lO. 







air 
UJ ST 



EIGHT ROOM BUILDING. 5/ 



The eleventh design gives a perspective view and floor plans of an eight- 
room, two-story building. This house has a fine front that is unique in ap- 
pearance, but the cut fails to convey its real attractiveness. It will be noticed 
that but one wardrobe is provided for each room. Each of these rooms should 
be divided by a partition, thus furnishing separate accommodations for the 
sexes, and additional exits should be provided. 



PLAN NO. II. 



KS 




NO. II, FLOOR PLANS. 



59 




6o 



SIX ROOM BUILDING. 



The twelfth diagrams exhibit a house built in 1888 at Prescott, which has 
given great satisfaction in its accommodations for the several grades of a small 
town. Attention may be directed especially to the entrances of this house, and 
to its fine architectural appearance. Some places will prefer a larger room for 
the high school and also a larger room for the use of the assistant, both of 
which ends may be attained without enlarging the main structure by employing^ 
a different distribution of the second floor space. 




Front Elevation. 



PLAN NO. 12, BASEMENT. 



6i 




Basement Pl.aN' 



62 



PLAN NO. 12, FIRST FLOOR. 




First Floor Plan. 



PLAN NO. 12, SECOND FLOOR 



63 




Second Floor Plan, 



64 



EIGHT ROOM BUILDING. 



The thirteenth design was prepared for an eight-room building for high 
school and grammar grades, at Columbus, Wis. The diagrams show front 
elevation, basement and floor plans of a convenient and attractive school 
house. 



Q 




Front Elevation . 



PLAN NO. 13, BASEMENT. 



65 



-i-\ 3- + 




-:y^ 



Plan of'Basement. 



66 



PLAN NO. 13, FIRST FLOOR. 




"1 3^, 



1^. 



■4— «ii 



Plan IotIstS t o r y.,^ 



PLAN NO. 13, SECOND FLOOR 



67 



■ ? ..• — L j_L,.^_j_|.J — ) _j_3 




Plan of 2nd Story. 



6S 



EIGHT ROOM BUILDING. 



The fourteenth design has been used as a model for construction in a 
neighboring state. It presents an eight room house, especially designed as a 
ward building and for grades below the high school. It may be used for high 
school and grammar grades by giving one room on the second floor to first year 
high school pupils, another to second year pupils, and assigning third and 
fourth year pupils to another. The remaining room on this floor would be 
available for apparatus and as a recitation room. Such a plan has been adopted 
in many places, and has much to commend it. 




PLAN NO. 14, BASEMENT. 



69 



eg '2' ■ 




Basement Plan. 



70 



PLAN NO. 14, FIRST FLOOR. 




First Floor Plan 



PLAN NO. 14, SECOND FLOOR. 



71 




Second Floor Plan 



72 



ELEVATION OF ANTIGO BUILDING. 




Front Elevatiom 



PLAN HO. 15, BASEMENT. 



73 



The fifteenth house presented in this circular was built at Antigo, in 1891. 
It is a beautiful structure, and, it is understood, has proven satisfactory in all 
essential particulars. 




Basement Plan. 



74 



PLAN NO. 15, FIRST FLOOR. 




First Floor Plan. 



PLAN NO. 15, SECOND FLOOR. 



75 




Sc\;oND Floor Plan* 



T^) SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE. 



The sixteenth design varies from the fourteenth in no essentials, but pre- 
sents the distribution of rooms in a Httle different way. The accessibility by 
stairs, the corridors, and the architectural effect through the swell fronts are pre- 
sented in a striking way, as may be seen from the plans of the basement, the 
floors and the elevations. The elevations are of different buildings, but the in- 
ternal arrangements are adapted to either exterior. 



PLAN NO. 1 6, ELEVATION. 



17 




Lf i'ff 






78 



PLAN NO. 1 6, ELEVATION. 






iMITECT »J 0UET * iliLic 




NO. 1 6, BASEMENT PLAN. 



79 




m^rr^ff^---^! 



8o 



NO. 1 6, FIRST FLOOR FLAN. 







NO. 1 6, SECOND FLOOR PLAN. 



8i 




Sccond Fuoor Plaa/ 



82 



PLAN NO. 17. 



The seventeenth design presents a perspective view, a longitudinal section, 
basement, and first and second floor plans of a five room building, erected at 
River Falls in 1880, at a cost of ;^ 12,000. The plans were prepared by Messrs. 
Edbrooke and Burnham of Chicago, and were embraced in the circular of Supt. 
Whitford. It is a beautiful structure, and experience has demonstrated its 
adaptation to the needs of village schools. 




PLAN NO. 17, LONGITUDINAL SECTION. 



83 




84 



PLAN NO. 17, BASEMENT FLOOR. 




PLAN NO. 17, FIRST FLOOR. 



8S 




&-»f^g*O -'w3te i »j »«»8)-*«>?v.t0gw»»»«>»«»*—;>» ••••ll'O* •»« 



86 



PLAN NO. 17, SECOND FLOOR 




PLAN NO. 1 8. WEST SUPERIOR. 



87 




^iTjjMior J'hnol- 



88 



PLAN NO. 1 8, BASEMENT. 




PLAN NO. 1 8, FIRST FLOOR. 



89 




90 



PLAN NO. 1 8, SECOND FLOOR. 




PLAN NO. 19, THREE ROOMS. 



91 



The cuts immediately following (Plan No. 19) are from the portfolio of 
Elah Terrell & Co., Architects, of Columbus, Ohio. 

They may be used for one or for two story buildings, and in either form, 
may be extended indefinitely. By the use of these plans growing villages may 
increase their school room accommodations without marring the harmony of 
the original design. 




VIEW . No I 



92 



PLAN NO. 19, THREE ROOMS. 




FIRST FlDDR plan . Nd 1 




5ECDND FLDDR PLAN- No. ) 



PLAN NO. 19, FIVE ROOMS. 



93 




"'*'••" 'iMui.iuuuu.vv^.,.. I. MH 



un/^j 



V ICW . No. 2. 



94 



PLAN NO. 19, FIVE ROOMS. 




P1H5T PLDDK PLAN . N°' ^ 



PLAN NO. 19, FIVE ROOMS. 



95 



r 



SChDDL F(DDM 



y 



SChDQL F(DD^1 



50 SfA' 5 




I 



! 



BCCDDL F\DOi^ 



J 



cT c^ 



^ rf 



Room 



SECOND FLDDF\ PLAp^ . [nJd, 



Gl€:Y)ations. 



The following elevations are introduced with a view of suggesting to local 
boards the present state of school architecture, enabling them to select forms 
that shall at once appeal to the good judgment of citizens in the stable charac- ] 
ter of the structure, as well as in the aesthetic features of the architectural forms. I 




ELEVATIONS. 



97 



.- f5C^ < 




^^--^-^'^ 


^^ -^-v ^-f S 


'>:.^--^^ "'^ 


: "^^ ^\^- «/' 






WARMING AND VENTILATING. 1 01 

The cuts on the following pages are presented through the courtesy of The 
Smead Warming and Ventilating Company. They illustrate a warming, ven- 
tilating and dry closet system which may be seen in practical operation in any 
of the state normal school buildings and in many other public buildings in the 
state. 

This system takes a large volume of fresh air from the outside of the build- 
ing, conducts it to the large airwarmers or furnaces, which are placed in the 
basement, where it is warmed (not superheated) and ascends through each 
school-room through a large flue built of brick. The volume of air thus sup- 
plied to each room is sufficient to afford eaph pupil i,8oo cubic feet per hour, 
which thus secures adequate ventilation. 

The warm-air register is placed seven feet above the floor in order to de- 
liver the air above the heads of the pupils, and^to avoid draughts. 

By the use of the valves, which are connected with a regulator in each 
room, the warm air can be shut off and cold air admitted through the same reg- 
ister ; or the warm and cold air can be mixed, giving the air in the room any 
temperature desired. This is what is called " continuous ventilation, " because 
by the use of this device the room is at all times supplied with either warm, 
cold, or mixed warm and cold air. After admission to the various rooms, the 
air is diffused through them, used for respiration, and discharged through num- 
erous ventilating exits, through which it passes under the floors, warming, 
them, and is delivered into a foul-air room in the basement, whence it passes 
through the dry closet vaults to the ventilating chimney, drying the excreta in 
its passage over it. 

The airwarmers or furnaces are enclosed in brick walls. The warm air 
and ventilating flues are built of brick. The closet vaults are built of brick 
covered with iron floors. This kind of construction makes the whole warming, 
ventilating and dry closet plant as nearly fire-proof as possible. The closet 
vaults are so arranged that their contents can be destroyed by fire without 
removal from th'^ vaults. This plan most effectually disposes of a most trouble- 
some matter for school authorities to deal with. 

There are various ways of applying the system. Many school buildings 



102 WARMING AND VENTILATING. 

in the state use one ventilating duct for each room, instead of passing the foul 
air under the floors. This is a common way of supplying it to school buildings 
already built. 

Correspondence in regard to warming and ventilating schools may be ad- 
dressed to the following firms: 

Fuller, Warren & Co., Milwaukee, Wis. 

George H. Hess & Co., 63 West Washington Street, Chicago. 

The Boynton Co., Chicago. 

Smead Warming & Ventilating Co., 324 Dearborn Street, Chicago. 



WARMING AND VENTILATING. 



103 




104 



SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE. 




.SECTtON THRQV&H FURNACE a. FLUE 
I SMEADWARHItM bV^HTILATINft. Co. 
■ CHICAGO k AT. PAUL. 



C&AUIIliwXrMIT. 



io6 



SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE. 




plan for Qarri/ing ^waif G^all^ D^st. 



The followin^s^ cut represents a method of disposing of the dust arising from 
the use of chalk and erasers upon blackboards in as satisfactory a way as is 
known, and the construction may be employed in a new building without cost, 
in addition to that which would be necessary for the ordinary construction of a 
wall under the blackboard. It will be noticed that the dust falls directly through 
an open wire screen fitted into the space between the blackboard and the wain- 
scoting, and will also be shaken out of the eraser when it is placed in position, 
and the downward flow of air will readily carry the entire refuse from the board 
into the general outdoor circulation. 

This plan of disposing of chalk dust is the invention of Mr. C. W. Bowron, 
of Oshkosh. 



Gciution to [guilders. 



The attention of builders and school boards is called to the following 
statute : 

Section 1636c. (Ch. 190, 1885.) All churches, public and private school 
houses, hotels, factories, or other manufacturing establishments, constructed at 
any time after the passage of this act, shall be so constructed that the doors 
shall swing Outward, or both in and out, as the builders thereof may elect. 

Where school buildings are recessed for passageways, doors between these 
passageways and halls or landings should swing outward; wardrobe, recitation 
and school room doors should swing both ways. 



^el^nowledgments. 



Acknowledgments are gratefully made to the following architects whose 
works are represented in the preceding pages: 

J. Bruess, Milwaukee, Wis., Plans 1,5. 

W. G. Kirchoffer, Elkhorn, Wis., Plan 2. 

Edbrooke & Burnham, Chicago, 111., Plan 4. 

H. C. Koch & Co., Milwaukee, Wis., Plans 6, 7. 

G. S. Mansfield, Freeport, 111., Plans 10, 11. 

Truman D Allen, Minneapolis, Minn., Plans 12, 13, 15. 

— & Ritchie, Duluth, Minn., Plan 16. 

Elah Terrell & Co., Columbus, O., Plan 18. 

F. S. Allen, Joliet, 111. 

Additional acknowledgments for courtesies rendered in the preparation of 
this circular are due to: 

Superintendent R. H. Halsey, Oshkosh, Wis. 

Fuller & Warren Warming & Ventilating Co., 216 South Jefferson Street, 
Chicago, 111. 

Smead Warming & Ventilating Co., 324 Dearborn Street, Chicago, 111. 

Superintendent R. C. Ramsay, Peshtigo, Wis. 

W. H. Nichols, Architect, Delton, Wis. 

Joseph Dressen, Architect, Sauk City, Wis. 

D. S, Schureman, Architect, Rockford, 111. 

Schnetzky & Siebert, Architects, Milwaukee. 

W. H. Smith, Eau Galle, Wis. 

John D. Gordon, Jr., Architect, Madison, Wis. 

D. R. Jones, Architect, Cambria, Wis. 

Prin. J. W. Livingstone, Sparta, Wis. 

State Superintendent Stockwell, Providence, R. I. 



J 



Library of Congress 
Branch Bindery, 1902 



